


harmonize

by ameriboo



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Crushes, Drabble, F/M, Ficlet, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, One Shot, Puppy Love, Teen Crush, Young Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:13:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24863614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ameriboo/pseuds/ameriboo
Summary: He is the song that you had to hear a third time to understand.
Relationships: Kasumi | Misty/Ookido Shigeru | Gary Oak
Comments: 5
Kudos: 15





	harmonize

**Author's Note:**

> disclaimer: do not own pokemon.
> 
> this is old. but i will slowly add more of my egoshipping ficlets. love misty and gary forever.

> **He is the song that you had to hear a third time to understand.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

There was no connection between you two. A string of sentences exchanged was as far as you have gotten with him and you figure it's not that important.

You're thirteen and he's twelve and you doubt he even knows your name.

In the beginning, he held his nose in the air whenever he entered a room. He's just what you expect out of the grandson of someone famous— talented, attention-hungry, pretentious—but still kind to his pokémon. Spiked hair, intense eyes, and a shit-eating grin that made you want to pinch him till he screamed.

But he has grown from the time you knew him. He doesn't harass as harshly as he did and is on his journey alone. You'd be lying if you didn't feel some sympathy for him when he walks away from you and your friends by himself.

In Ash Ketchum's yard, you bask in the sun drinking lemonade and from the corner of your eye watch as he made his way over.

He stands above you and for once you're silent.

"Misty," he says, offering a small bag of treats. "I thought that Togepi would like these."

You accept them and return his gesture with a confused half-smile.

He walks down the dirt path, towards his own home.

The way he says your name playing over and over like a record.

.

.

.

Time has passed and you've separated from your best friends—your family of misfits. You take over Cerulean City's Gym and it's stressful.

You eat more instant ramen than your stomach can handle and hug your knees to your chest when you feel alone.

Daisy tells you, _"It's always hard before it gets easy."_

Even Daisy has her moments of depth.

You hear news from Brock, good ol' reliable Brock, that Gary is no longer a trainer—that he's studying to be a researcher, like his grandfather.

The thought that the two of you are more similar than you once believed crosses your mind. He's taking a new path; you're taking a new path. For some strange reason, your heart feels warm at the idea.

Your stomach churns at you thinking about a boy you barely have a friendship with when you should be worrying about cleaning the tiles in the locker rooms.

Reaching for the mop and bleach, you get to work.

**.**

**.**

**.**

It's Professor Oak's birthday barbecue and you were invited. The aroma of cheeseburgers and grass hand the air and you dwell in the summertime.

Professor already recited some of his favorite verses, earning applause from the audience. You laughed as Tracey teared up.

Delia Ketchum, beautiful and kind, offers you some of her infamous lemonade and one sip takes you back to a happier, simpler time. A time when you had two boys to dance and laugh and cry along the road. You miss it so much sometimes you think about ditching everything to catch the next plane out of Kanto but you're too young at your job to quit so soon. There are people betting for you to fail and you can't have them winning.

Amongst the groups of trainers and locals, there he is. He's grown taller since the last time you've seen him.

Maybe the crowd of people he knows empowers him as he seems to be in his element, conversing and grinning between different groups of people. You watch with your chin firmly placed on your palm as Professor Oak places a proud hand on his shoulder. Their relationship makes you happy.

You sit to yourself till he decides to sit across from you at the picnic table nonchalantly.

That warmth you once felt settles into your stomach and you choose to ignore it.

"Gary," you begin, "it's been a while."

The quirk of his eyebrow is all too familiar and your insides burn at his grin. "I spotted the red hair from meters away," he says, reaching for his own glass of lemonade.

"It's good to see you, Misty."

Within seconds, the needle of the record player drops and you listen to it over and over.

.

.

.

Eventually, you get to know him beyond what the preteen you once knew.

It took some time, bickering, and good conversation, but once you've come to terms with it's okay to become friends with your best friend's ex-rival, you began to look forward to hanging out with him when you have the chance.

He's a cocky attention-whore in a lot of ways still but his gentle, caring side comes out so easily. He's blunt and likes to tease—has a quick tongue. Irritates the shit out of you on bad days but that's the worst of it.

You find it funny how much he hates pineapple pizza and how offended he gets when you comment on how drinking so much coffee is going to eventually stain his teeth yellow.

You're both sitting on the edge of the Cerulean Gym's main pool with your feet in the water, aimlessly watching as your psyduck floats on in his inner tube and his blastoise glide through the water.

"This is nice," he says, completely out of the blue. "Blastoise seems to be having fun."

You smile at the large blue beast. "He fits in here," you reply warmly.

"He does, doesn't he?"

"Better company than his trainer anyway."

He pretends to act insulted and splashes water at you. In between the fit of giggles, you fall into the pool and take him down with you.

.

.

.

He is on his way to the Sinnoh at fifteen. At sixteen, your title surges across Kanto by storm but something within you still wants more in your career.

"So," you begin, "how's the weather over there?"

 _"Freezing compared to Kanto right now,"_ he says, his face on the screen.

You can't help but giggle at his misfortune.

"Your grandfather misses you," you tell him. "He mentioned how Professor Rowan is really impressed by your work ethic.

"The old man is so sentimental," he sighs. "Being so far away from Kanto always brings me to realize how no other place is like it."

"I feel that," you admit, voice slightly shallow. "Makes me miss traveling."

"You know," he begins, looking you completely in the eye, "I always wondered what it would be like to travel with you."

You blink.

"You three traveled together for such a long time so I couldn't help but think about the what-ifs," he admits.

"Who knew what my journey could have been if things were different."

As vague as he is you can't help but understand what he means.

"Different how?" You ask too quickly.

He smiles in a rare way and you feel your cheeks burn as your breath gets caught in your throat at the way he looks at you.

"Let's go on a journey one day, you and me," he proposes.

"Are you saying you want to travel with me, Oak?"

"Well," he interrupts, his smile refusing to falter, "instead of wishing things were different, I just figured why not make things in the future different. Traveling together would be one hell of an experience."

Your mind wanders to your guys' late-night long talks about their experiences on the couches and floors in the lobbies of pokémon centers—it wanders to sharing snacks and banter while trying to find your way out of a forest. Your inner eleven-year-old self is surprised at how easily he fits into the equation. How easy it is to think about him all damn day and how hard it is to accept that you like the idea of it all.

You and him.

On an adventure, on one hell of an experience.

You almost forget that he's in Sinnoh and you're home with your hair dripping down the nape of your neck. It almost feels like he's right there in front of you.

Your lips break into a smile and it slightly takes him back.

"Together doesn't sound too bad."

.

.

.

You stand on the side of a dirt path heading towards the city over. Your bags are packed; your boots are laced. And you're older than you once were.

A tall figure stands in the distance, waiting for you.

He calls out for you, says your name.

_"Misty!"_

You play it over and over again.

.

.

.

**Author's Note:**

> they can have a future. open your third eye.


End file.
